“Yes, why?”
Chu Lulin cleared the dishes and looked up at her. “I’ve thought of my birthday wish.”
Jian Ran raised an eyebrow, surprised he had come up with it so quickly.
Just last night, he had seemed clueless.
“Oh? What is it?”
Chu Lulin smiled and nodded.
He had only mentioned the birthday wish on a whim yesterday, never expecting to use it so soon.
“I’d like to invite you to soak in the hot springs at West Mountain.”
“Hot springs?” This season was perfect for it. Jian Ran had been to West Mountain Hot Springs once before and had a good impression of the place.
“Alright, but I’ll treat you. No need for you to pay.”
As a sugar mommy, letting a broke student pay for her fun would ruin her reputation.
Chu Lulin didn’t argue. He simply explained their lab’s team-building activity.
“Most of the people going are the ones you met last night. If you feel uncomfortable, you don’t have to come.”
Since it was a group outing with people she hardly knew, he worried she might feel awkward.
Of course, if she didn’t go, Chu Lulin would find an excuse to skip it too.
After all, at this critical stage in their relationship, he wasn’t comfortable leaving her alone for several days.
Jian Ran shook her head. She didn’t mind. Chu Lulin’s classmates were easy to get along with.
But then she grew concerned. “Would it be inappropriate for me to join your team-building activity?”
Would using public funds cause trouble for him?
“Maybe I should pay for my share. I don’t want to take advantage.”
Chu Lulin chuckled. “No need. The professor said we could bring guests.”
“Others are bringing someone too.”
So others were bringing guests too. That was fine.
With that settled, Jian Ran agreed without hesitation.
She didn’t even notice how ambiguous the term “guest” or “family” sounded.
The hot spring trip was five days and four nights. Jian Ran hadn’t expected it to be that long; she thought it would just be the weekend.
Early Saturday morning, Chu Lulin came to pick her up. She hurriedly changed clothes and kept looking back before leaving. In the end, she couldn’t resist running back to the cat bed.
“Hulu, Mommy is just going out for a few days. I’m not abandoning you, okay? Don’t overthink it.”
Although she had asked Xiao Ning to take care of Hulu every day, she was still worried. After all, the little guy had only recently been abandoned.
The more she thought about it, the more worried she became. She looked at Chu Lulin with pleading eyes. “Are you sure he won’t overthink it?”
Chu Lulin sighed helplessly and explained for the nth time, “He won’t. We’ve already prepared enough water and cat food, and someone will come regularly every day. There’s no problem.”
Jian Ran was half-convinced, but since it was already decided, she could only comfort herself. “Good thing I bought a camera a couple of days ago. I can talk to Hulu through it every day.”
She had originally bought the camera to watch over the little guy when he was home alone, planning to chat with him from outside. Now it came in handy.
Chu Lulin glanced at Hulu, who was tilting his head and nuzzling Jian Ran’s palm, and felt a twinge of jealousy. “Sister, aren’t you spoiling him too much?”
Jian Ran, thick-skinned, didn’t pick up on the undertone. She simply took it as Chu Lulin acknowledging her responsibility. “Right? I told you I’d be a good adopter.”
Earlier, he hadn’t believed she was serious about keeping Hulu and insisted on raising the cat together with her.
Now she had proven herself.
“Now you can rest assured, right?” She raised an eyebrow, looking smug.
Chu Lulin: “...Mm.”
He was more than assured—he was even starting to feel jealous.
Seeing that time was truly running out, Jian Ran finally gritted her teeth, grabbed Chu Lulin, and rushed out the door.
They drove to A University, parked the car, and then went to the school gate to find the chartered bus.
Technically, the distance wasn’t far, and Jian Ran could have driven herself. But after some thought, since it was a group outing, she decided not to stand out and joined everyone on the bus.
“Ran Jie, you’re finally here! We were just waiting for you,” Jiang Ming called out.
Jian Ran pressed her palms together apologetically. “Sorry, traffic was a bit heavy. I made you all wait.”
She felt too embarrassed to admit that her delay was due to parting with her cat, so she made up an excuse.
“Don’t listen to him, Ran Jie. We said we’d leave at ten, and it’s only 9:50 now,” someone said cheerfully, giving her an out.
“Yeah, yeah. We were early. You’re not late at all…”
Everyone chimed in, and the bus instantly became lively.
Chu Lulin put Jian Ran’s luggage in the hold and then got on the bus. They found a pair of seats in the back and sat down.
Once everyone was there, the driver started the engine and merged into traffic.
At first, everyone chatted enthusiastically, but with about two hours of drive time—not too long but not too short—people gradually dozed off.
The bus drove through the bustling city streets, then onto suburban roads.
The scenery outside kept changing. The bus swayed and finally stopped at the entrance of a hot spring resort.